Alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur has pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder.
The 67-year-old, who had been set to stand trial next year, entered the guilty plea during a hearing Tuesday morning in a Toronto courtroom.
McArthur, a self-employed landscaper, was arrested in January 2018 after being accused of preying on men from Toronto's gay village.
Police eventually charged him with first-degree murder in the deaths of Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Majeed Kayhan, Dean Lisowick, Soroush Mahmudi, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi, and Kirushna Kanagaratnam.
Toronto Police handouts/supplied photos
Tuesday’s hearing also shed some light on what police found with the release of a brief statement of facts about the case.
According to the statement, a police search of McArthur’s bedroom turned up a duffel bag containing duct tape, rope, zip ties, a black bungee cord, a surgical glove and syringes. A notebook belonging to one of the vitcims was also found.
Court also heard that McArthur kept jewelry belonging to some of his victims and that there is evidence suggesting McArthur "staged" five of his victims after killing them and all but the first two of the murders to which McArthur has pleaded guilty were described in the statement as being "sexual in nature."
Also present in the courtroomwas Karen Fraser, the owner of the property where the remains of McArthur’s victims were found.
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Fraswer said McArthur had been her landscaper for more than a decade prior to his arrest, and was generally pleasant.
Det. David Dickinson of Toronto police told reporters the investigation is not considered to be closed, and police will "continue to look at any possible connections that anyone may have had to Bruce McArthur."
— With files from CTV News